Reducing

How to spell reducing

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce reducing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reducing mean?

1. verbMaking something smaller or less in size, amount, degree, or intensity.

Reducing in a sentence

• The company is reducing its costs by closing two warehouses.

• Reducing your salt intake can lower your blood pressure.

Where does reducing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin reducere, which literally meant 'to lead back' or 'to bring back', formed from the prefix re- meaning 'back' and the verb ducere meaning 'to lead' or 'to draw'. The same ducere root threads through a remarkable family of English words, including 'conduct' (to lead together), 'introduce' (to lead in), and 'duke' (a leader). English borrowed 'reduce' through Old French in the late 1300s, when it could mean 'to bring back' or 'to restore to an earlier state'; the modern sense of making something smaller in size, amount, or degree developed gradually through the 1500s and 1600s. The present participle 'reducing' simply adds the regular -ing ending. The spelling trap is the silent middle: the 'c' is soft before 'e', and the final 'e' of 'reduce' is dropped before -ing, so writers must remember to drop it rather than write 'reduceing'.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• duc (from Latin ducere: to lead)
• -ing (present participle suffix)